Sen. Rand Paul today announced the introduction of theProtect Our Privacy Act as amendment to the Senate’s Immigration Reform Bill. This amendment would prohibit the issuance of a national identification card system. In the wake of the IRS scandal and NSA wiretapping revelations, Sen. Paul believes that his amendment is necessary to protect the privacy of all citizens.

“A National ID card violates our right to privacy by helping to consolidate data and facilitate the government in the tracking of individuals. President Ronald Reagan opposed this idea, as did President Bill Clinton. They believed, as I do, that American citizens should not be forced to carry around a National Identification Card as a condition of citizenship, because the card offends any reasonable basic concept of freedom. While identifying and documenting immigrants is necessary for proper reform, implementing a mandatory identification registry for all citizens is not,” Sen. Paul said.

The Protect Our Privacy Act does the following:

· Prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from interpreting the immigration reform bill to permit a national identification card or system;

· Prohibits the Federal or State government from requiring photographs or biometric information without probable cause;

· Prevents the provision in the bill titled “Photo Tool” from allowing the government to force all citizens to provide a photo;